


Welcome Stateside

by Attique



Category: Fantastic Four
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:22:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Attique/pseuds/Attique
Summary: Victor is less than pleased with his housing arrangement at Empire State University.
Relationships: Reed Richards/Victor von Doom
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Welcome Stateside

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hexereii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexereii/gifts).



Generally it is standard to room a foreign student with an American student, one carefully selected to be of good character and that will present a good example of what America can produce. Several long hours were spent arguing this point among the university staff, and eventually, the winning side was for exactly that to happen, no matter how much of a position this foreigner held or how special the circumstances of his being stateside in the first place might have been. 

Of course, miscommunications happened. When Victor received the instructions of his rooming arrangement, the consensus was that he would be in a single, not forced to share his living quarters with anyone save the fact of other students also residing on the same floor. One can only imagine his surprise and subsequent anger when upon entering his dorm there was not only a second bed present but someone else’s things there.

What was worse was the content of those things-- and their arrangement? Haphazard and uncaring. Cleats tossed onto the bed, a garish red jersey - granted at least the shade was not as blindingly scarlet as it could have been, instead, a more subtle burgundy - draped hastily over the back of a chair at one of the desks, piled precariously with at least two dozen books and scribbled notes in some of the worst handwriting Victor had ever had the displeasure of seeing. He knew of children brand new to the world of literacy with greater mastery over the use of a pen.

Greater frustration was still to come. The slight stickiness of the air and traces of - lavender? No, that was chamomile on the humidity of the room and paired with the sound of running water. This was going to be frustrating if he was to handle a roommate who did not even have the decency to close the door when taking a shower and an athlete at that. How arrogant of this country, to constantly show off their supposed advances by sparring uselessly over rubber balls that did so little to ever help anyone. Gaining strength and speed so artificially they would never be of any use in an actually dangerous situation. The sneer of derision on his face was hot enough to melt the very glass of the window. 

The bed on the left side of the room was as of yet unmade - a mere mattress sitting atop a metal frame and nothing else. Purchasing a few creature comforts would have to be done, seeing as this supposedly all-inclusive room and board was not as inclusive as it had been initially implied. At least leaving now would spare him the issue of witnessing his roommate in too little clothing. Though judging by the water’s noise ceasing, he may be too late to prevent that.

For the moment, he would go about unpacking his suitcase - simple clothing, a thin laptop and not much else. Certain to keep his back to the bathroom area so that his retinal integrity may be spared torture. 

\--

Those with an athletics slant to their university career were allowed to move into the dorms two weeks before the rest of the student body to allow for initial training camps to occur. Reed had already been settled in for that time and had begun to grow comfortable with having a room to himself. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to have a roommate, not that such a thing was something he had ever gotten used to in the first place.

The year previous he’d been sharing his quarters with another athletics student and while they had made fast friends, the moment Reed’s attention was on his studies the rest of the world may as well not exist. It was anyone’s wonder how he managed to excel both in his run on the soccer field as well as make strides in his papers and projects that impressed far more than his own scientifics department. 

The answer to that very question was simple: Reed did absolutely nothing in the way of having a social life. Most of his teammates, even those from other teams, wound down after practice together. For Reed, as soon as that whistle blew he was away from the field and back in his dorm. Even before classes started or syllabi were published. Today was a bit different, though not for exactly the same reasons. 

For almost two months now his game has been… off. His confidence in his ability to run freely was compromised, all the more frustrating as he had little to no reason to believe that he was going to take such a fall again. The soccer pitch was smooth and kempt - absolutely no need. Hitting the books immediately was not on his list for the moment. He wanted to wallow a bit and think about his career. One tick of his self-imposed social ostracism? Completely forgetting that it was move-in day for the foreign exchange students.

The moment Reed stepped out of the shower and saw that he had a visitor in his dorm, the door was shoved closed and an apology shouted through it, followed by dressing in possibly the most hurried fashion he’d possibly ever undertaken. 

“Have this mess cleared away by the time I return.” came a growled order from beyond the door, followed by a sharp shutting of the main entry door. 

This was going to be a long year.


End file.
